Westone Spectrum III

Japanese made, mid 80', solid Mahogany, bolt on neck

great variety of sounds, full and rich

very nice light action, tends to go outta tune only with excessive tremola bashing

bought this guitar second hand in 1987, it was previously owned by a guitarist in a local gigging/recording band, when I got it I was just 16 and I thrashed the hell out of it for a couple of years and have only just started to pick it up again now, but it looks indestructable.

think they ceased to exist, as soon as I bought it, but have never needed them

I've lent this to my brother, my mates have all played it and everyone say its very easy to play, the action is so low, and you can pull almost any sound out of it, played it mostly with Boss HM pedal thru a laney 75watt reverb Amp, produces a really crisp rock sound.

Its been around for 16 years and still sounds great - so I can't knock it for value.

But it's a pain to replace strings

I bought this guitar new in 1983.Made in Japan. The body is solid mahogany (weighs a ton) the neck I think is mahogany too. Two hi output humbuckers and one single coil(all poles ajustable), five way selector with push/pull tone pots. Passive electronics which can phase the humbuckers or turn them into single coils...a total of +- 30 different sound combinations- hence the Spectrum name.Finish is a high quality midnight blue. No name tuners and floating trem. Jumbo frets. Rosewood fretboard.
Quality finish is extremely high.

Because of the pickup configuration and the passive EQ, the amount of sounds possive make this my most versatile guitar.From a clean Knofler Strat to a smooth overdriven Moore. The sounds are rich ,full and balanced. Sustain is exceptional.
I drive a Peavey 130 Special exclusively cuopled with a Boss ME II overdrive pedal and a Boss stereo Chorus. Very simple.

The factory setup was poor
The factory pickup adjustment was poor
All easily adjusted for personal preference.
The finish on the body and neck excellent.
Electronics are well grounded and screaned, no noise in any position.
Hardware is powder coated in black.
Trem system is a bit clumsy when fitting new strings.
Trem sytem could have been upgraded with a top lock unit, can be tempremental at times when playing hard.

This has become my main guitar when playing gigs. I use a 72 CBS blonde strat as backup which is less reliable.
All the hardware is solid,simple and it works.
This instrument is 19 years old next year and is still in mint condition, bar the wear on the fretboard etc.
All finishes are of exceptional quality- I have yet to find a guitar of this calibre again. It far surpasses any Les Paul I have played or owned in my opinion.
This instrument is truly underated.

Mostly unknown.
Poor service by the sales staff who I bought it from. It took me nearly two years before I dicovered the passive EQ features on the tone pots!!
No or little information is known about pickups.

Playing for 29 years.
What exactly do the electronics work.
I would most certainly wish to replace it.
Love the playability- very easy to play, quick and smooth action,
It is a bit on the heavy side. Love the overdriven silky or raunchy sounds. Can make it sound just like my vintage Strat.
I was 16 when I bought it (chose it for its looks!)
Wish it had a Floyd Rose or similar system + top lock.
Its a real pity they are not made any longer.
My brother owns a Prestige 150. Quality and sound...as good as it gets.
I would compare this to a high end Carvel or even a good PRS ! The quality is amazing in all areas bar the trem system.

Made in Japan in the mid 80's. I bought it second hand for about #140 UKP from a friend when it was about 6 months old. I think it cost #250 new. 22 Frets. 1 vol, 2 tone with push/pull pots to give coil tap and phase loop. 5 way selector. H/S/H no name pickups. Passive circuit. Rosewood fretboard, unsure of body or neck materials. Metallic brown/gold colour (including headstock and back of neck). Strat style shape. No name machineheads and floating trem.

I run this guitar through a Digitech RP6 into a JCM900 and 4 x12 cab. It can produce just about any sound you want. With the 5 way selector and coil tap/ phase loop you can produce some crisp clear sounds. Produces nice overdriven tones through the amp, but not really suitable for thrash styles, although I play middle of the road rock, which it's great for.

This was my first real electric guitar (I had a really cheap Les Paul copy before), so I didn't know much about it at the time, but the guy who was teaching me to play loved it, and said action, finish & set-up were good.

I've had this guitar for over 15 years and it's only just starting to show it's age. The only thing that has been replaced is the nut (frets now require some attention, as do the bridge pieces).I've gigged with it without a backup on numerous occasions and the only problem I've had was when I broke a string. Being a floating trem without a locking mechanism it went straight out of tune. The strings were brand new -I blame them, not the guitar, because it never happened again.

Haven't a clue. Saw a revue about Westone guitars in general in a UK Music Mart magazine 3 or 4 years ago, which said they were a good second hand buy. Says "A Matsumoku Product" on the neck plate. I don't know any more, except I think someone is making Westones again, but Mexican, not Japanese.

I've been playing on and off for over 16 years and I've had this guitar for most of them. The quality of this guitar is what you would expect of any Japanese made guitar (Fender, Ibanez etc). I've been playing in a band for the last 5 years and gigged it regularly. It's got great machineheads, and once it's tuned it stays there (as long as you don't go mad with the trem). The action and playability of this guitar is brilliant. The only problem with it is that it really does need to go into a shop for some restoration now (re-fret and new bridge pieces). That's the only reason I don't us it for gigging now. I recently bought an Ibanez RG507 to replace this as my gigging guitar, but I still love this guitar. I won't sell it, and if it got stolen or broken I'd probably die from a broken heart. If you see any of the old (80's) Westones made in Japan then check them out. The only thing to look for is the quality of the hardware, although good, they do wear out eventually, and some replacement parts are not readily available, as I have discovered.